Eye of the Storm
by SillverMedal
Summary: The blizzard isn't letting up. And the twins are lost in the heart of Boston. Snow changes everything. Complete!
1. Snow

**A/N**: So, I'm back with a new story. This is part one of four, so I guess you could call it a "four-shot" if that suits your fancy. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own _The Suite Life of Zack and Cody_, nor do I own the rights to Apple's iPod, though I do listen to mine obsessively.

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_PART ONE_

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"Hurry up."

"Hold on! This stuff takes time. I gotta make sure I get the right one."

Cody sighed, folding his arms over his chest and wrapping his scarf tighter around his neck. "Zack," he said, trying to remain calm. "It's a guitar pick. We're not curing cancer."

Zack waved him off and Cody groaned, sinking down onto an uncomfortable chair. It was warm inside the music store, which was the only good thing about being forced to wait. Outside it was snowing and windy and utterly _freezing_, and Cody had always been more of an _autumn _person.

In his backpack he was wearing he carried all the books he had needed for his six classes (except the gym class he'd been forced to take, which generally consisted of him trying to stay invisible). Sophomore year had brought about biology, and advanced algebra, and debate…Plenty of classes he'd been wanting to take.

"Okay, what do you think of this one?" Zack held up a black pick with a jagged white line cutting through it. Cody raised a brow.

"Does it matter what it looks like?" he asked, not seeing the significance. "Your fingers cover it up anyway when you play."

Zack scowled and took out his wallet, grabbing three more picks undoubtedly to prove to his twin brother that the appearance of such an object did _indeed_ matter. "Wouldn't expect _you_ to understand, anyway," he said, paying for his purchase and grabbing the plastic bag.

As they left the store the little bell above the door _dinged_. Cody stifled a yawn. "What's that supposed to mean?" he demanded, a little offended. He'd always been a little too sensitive.

Zack shrugged, pocketing the supplies and tossing the bag on the ground. Cody frowned and stopped to pick it up and put it in a garbage can. "It's one bag, man," said Zack, rolling his eyes. "Not gonna kill the environment."

"No, but when five million other people say the same thing we get global warming and pollution and unsafe conditions which causes lots of today's medical problems like asthma and toxin poisoning which increases our chances of ge-,"

"-Aw, save it," Zack said, taking out his iPod and plugging the little headphones in his ears. "This is what I mean, dude. It's like, you spend all your time on crap statistics like that and then you miss out on _real_ life."

"But that _is_ real life," Cody said defensively. "It's true. When you litter, sooner of later everything suffers."

Zack turned up the volume and Cody narrowed his eyes in annoyance. "All I know," he said loudly, causing several passerbys to look at him strangely. "Is that you may save the world, or whatever, but people like you'll never actually be _part_ of it."

"And _you_ are?" Cody asked him, raising a brow.

Zack didn't answer, and the snow began to fall harder and the wind picked up speed. Both boys zipped up their jackets and Cody tightened his scarf as Zack pulled down his hat to cover his ears.

Cody reached out a gloved hand and pressed pause on the iPod. Zack looked at him indignantly. "What're you-,"

"-We gotta walk faster!" Cody shouted above the wind. "Beat the storm!"

Zack sneezed. "'Kay," he said, wiping his nose and sniffing. "But I think it's a little t…" his voice was swallowed by the wind and Cody leaned closer.

"What?" he said as loud as he could.

Zack replied, but Cody couldn't make out any words so he just grabbed his brother's arm and dragged him in an ally under the cover of some fire escapes. "I think we should stay here until the storm dies down," he said, lowering his voice as they escaped the white-out.

"Good idea," Zack agreed, sneezing again.

"You have a cold?"

Zack nodded. "It sucks."

Cody nodded sympathetically and leaned against the brick of one of the buildings. Out of their little hideaway it was pure white, cars had pulled over and people had ducked into boutiques and apartments for shelter. The wind was on a roll; whipping at anything in its path mercilessly and howling furiously as the world. The snow was icy and it clung to their jackets like thorns.

After ten minutes of no change and Zack groaned and rolled his head over to look at his brother. "It's not stopping," he said, stating the obvious as was his specialty.

"It will," Cody assured him, pulling his gloves up further and rubbing them together to generate heat. Science class always paid off in the end. Zack began to mimic him, stopping to take one off and wipe his hand underneath his nose, which was red with the cold.

"Here," said Cody, handing him a Kleenex.

"Thanks," Zack mumbled, blowing his nose miserably. He crumpled up the tissue and tossed it at a trash can a few feet away. It missed.

Cody looked at it, not saying anything.

Zack gave another sniff before sticking his hand back in his glove and meandering over, sticking the trash where it rightfully belonged. Cody smiled slightly and suddenly wished he'd worn boots instead of sneakers to school. The snow that had fallen into them had melted, and now his feet were beginning to feel numb.

Zack returned to their wall and sunk down against it so that he was squatting, hands going up to cover his face. Cody stared out at street, which was still hidden behind the curtain of white confetti spilled by the skies. Another strong gust of wind tore through, making Cody shiver and Zack cough.

"We just gonna stay in here 'til it stops?" Zack demanded after another ten minutes passed by with no change.

Cody shrugged. "Until we can see where we're going."

Zack sighed shortly. "This is _boring_." He complained. "And my frickin' _iPod's_ out of batteries." He folded his arms moodily and sniffed.

"It should end soon." Said Cody, trying to sound more confident than he felt.

* * *

Twenty minutes passed, and now not only was the blizzard still raging full force, but it had started to get dramatically darker. Zack had sat down and wrapped his arms around his knees which he had drawn up to his chin in an attempt to conserve body heat. He said nothing, but occasionally emitted a sneeze or a cough.

Cody had folded his arms tightly and pulled up the hood of his jacket to cover his ears, as he tried to ignore the fact that he could not only see the remains of his last breath hanging in the air, but the breath before that, and before that, and before that…

Zack sneezed again, loudly, and Cody crouched down to check on him. Like his brother, he'd pulled over the hood which provided extra insulation when added to the winter hat he was already wearing.

"How's your cold?" Cody asked him as the wind howled again.

Zack shuddered. His nose, chin, and cheekswere red and his eyes were rimmed with the color as well and watered slightly. "Still sucks," he answered, sounding stuffed up. Cody sighed sympathetically and sat down next to him.

"Maybe we should call mom," he said after another five minutes. Zack nodded and reached into his pocket as if to pull out his cell phone. Apparently finding nothing he grinned apologetically at Cody, who dug into his eyes with his palms. "Crap," he said. "I don't have mine either."

"Great." Zack said shortly. "Just _wonderful_."

Cody groaned and kicked at some frozen snow. "Man, if you hadn't 'needed' to stop at that music store we'd be home by now."

"What?" Zack turned to him indignantly. "_You_ were the one who waited _fifteen minutes_ after school before we could even go-,"

"-I had to ask a question about my history project!" Cody cut in defensively. "Not my fault I actually _care_ about school." He added grumpily.

Zack rolled his eyes and laughed sarcastically. "Oh, shut up, man. You think you're all, I dunno, _important_ 'cuz you get school. But like I said before. You have no life."

Cody watched his breath hang before his face. "Whatever," he said moodily. "If what you have is called a life, than I definitely don't want one."

Zack looked at him in surprise. "Ouch!" he exclaimed. "Dang, man, that was _mean_!" Cody smirked and buried down deeper in his jacket. "The cold makes you a jerk, apparently."

Cody blew out his icy breath. "Sorry," he said. "We shouldn't argue. That's not helping anything." And he tightened his scarf.

* * *

"_AH-CHOO_!"

Cody snapped his eyes opened and turned to look at his brother who sat, huddled up and shivering. Cody had given him the entire mini package of Kleenex and it lay used up at his feet.

"Come on," he said, grabbing Zack's arm and pulling him to his feet. "We gotta get home. You're gonna get pneumonia if we stay out here."

Zack sniffed and brushed a hand over his draining eyes. "Yeah, but what about the blizzard?" he looked out past Cody, who turned to see the thick white curtain still there, and still in full throttle.

"We know the way." He answered with trepidation. "We'll just be careful."

"'Kay," Zack sniffled, and they started out of the ally, shouldering their backpacks.

"We should find a store with a payphone," said Cody, voice rising as they reached the edge of the shelter. "So mom doesn't worry."

They slowly stepped out, and were quickly enveloped in a mad rush of snow. It blew in all direction, chaotic, messy, and confusing as it landed on their feet. Inches upon inches lay on the icy ground, and the wind tore bitterly through the freezing air. Cody squinted his eyes as the snow stung them, and quickly craned his neck to find Zack. "WE HAVE TO STAY TOGETHER," he shouted.

Zack might've nodded, might've said something, but Cody heard nothing but the wind. He felt a sudden pressure on his backpack and when he turned to look he saw that Zack had grabbed onto the handle. Flashing a thumbs up he knew nobody could see (heck, _he_ couldn't even see the gesture very clearly) he started to walk slowly, cautiously, towards some unknown destination.

"…RIGHT WAY?" Zack's voice was half droned out by the weather, but Cody caught his meaning and stopped to think.

"HOPE SO!" he answered back, a new seed of fear planted in his stomach, churning it uneasily.

He didn't even want to think of the consequences they would face if the Tipton wasn't right up the block.

But he should have.

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**To Be Continued**

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_Please review!_


	2. White

**A/N**: I lied. I said this would be four-parts...But that was before I got the idea for my new chapter story, which I really don't want to delay any more than I have to. So this is the second and last part of this extended-one-shot, so I hope you enjoyed this little fic! Thanks to all who reviewed!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own _The Suite Life of Zack and Cody_.

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_Part Two_

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The snow had let up just a tiny bit, but the wind had picked up speed. Garbage cans, newspapers, dog leashes, strollers, pop cans, flower pots…All slammed into Cody as he slowly bent his head and trudged through the thick snow. He'd closed his eyes a long time ago because looking into the sharp snow was killing them. He wished he had goggles. Any kind would do.

"…ALMOST THERE?" Zack bellowed from behind him.

"DON'T KNOW!" Cody answered, feeling the familiar weight as his twin brother held onto the handle on his backpack so they wouldn't separate. They'd been walking for a good ten minutes, and Cody's face was beginning to feel so numb he doubted he could wiggle his nose if he wanted to.

…Which ruled out the possibility for _poof_! it's summer in Malibu.

It was hard to breathe, too, with the wind so strong and against them. With his eyes closed and his feet so cold they were frozen he felt a bit sleepy…Like he could just take a little nap, and then the storm would pass and they could go home and have a cup of hot….chocolate…

* * *

"CODY!" Zack shouted as his brother suddenly fell forward. Adrenaline pumping through his veins he released the handle so he wouldn't fall, too, and quickly scampered to his brothers side, rolling him over onto his back.

Cody's face was red with the cold, but his eyes were closed and he was breathing. It was like he'd gone to sleep. Zack had no idea what to do if they had problems with hypothermia; only that it had killed off that Jack guy in _Titanic_.

"CODY?" he shouted again, trying to make himself heard above the wind. Trying not to panic he shook his younger twin to try to rouse him, and when that didn't work he lifted him up under his arms and half dragged, half carried him in the direction he thought the alleys would be in.

…Of course…Everything looked the same….Everything looked _white_…

"Okay," he told himself, trying to calm down. He looked left and right and then left again…No alley…Unwilling to accept that he kept feeling at the white walls, until his hand fell through. He put his foot through the opening and realized that it was wide and deep enough for them to stay until the storm died down…

He charged into it, grip firm on his brother's jacket and with a sharp sense of relief found that it was, in fact, another ally. The fire escapes were silver with ice, and even the ground had fell victim to the storm, but it would do. The walls blocked the wind's violent torrent, but did nothing to mute the noise. The snow did not blind him directly, but he might as well have been because outside was pure and utter _white_.

He tore his gaze from the storm and refocused on his brother who he had set against one of the icy metal bars. He knelt by him and reached out a gloved hand to try and wake him again when he was over come with sneezes and had to turn away.

"Cody-," he sniffled, shaking him gently. "Wake up. You gotta get up—we have to get back to the Tip-," another sneeze. "-ton."

A little groan and Cody slowly opened his eyes, squinting against the violent bright white of the light snow and sitting up straighter. "What-?" he started, looking at Zack who watched him in concern.

"You passed out, man," Zack told him, wiping his nose. "I didn't know what to do. I didn't know which way to go, so I just-I just found another alley."

Cody shivered and blinked a few times to clear his vision. "No," he said quietly (Zack could hardly hear him above the din of the wind). "Good idea. I just got really tired and…I don't know." He sighed and looked out past his brother, visibly disheartened to see that the storm hadn't really let up any.

Zack followed his gaze. "We're screwed," he informed Cody listlessly, sniffing and wiping his draining eyes.

"No, we're not," Cody disagreed half-heartedly. "We just gotta-you know, wait 'til it stops snowing. It has to stop eventually."

Zack coughed. "Eventually." He repeated. "Okay."

"We could try and find a store with a payphone…" Cody suggested, shaking off a wet glove.

"And go out there again?" Zack shook his head. "Hell, no."

Cody sighed.

* * *

Thirty minutes later the storm was slowly drawing to a close, but Cody was busy trying to keep Zack's mind off his miserable cold and on more cheerful things.

Like the french occupation of Europe.

"…So, pretty much, Napoleon comes up with this brilliant strategy to invade Russia because he's cocky being brilliant and famous and feared-,"

"-and short," Zack cut in, snickering.

Cody laughed slightly. "Actually that's a common misconception. Most people think he was like, a Hobbit or something, but actually he wasn't any shorter than your common man. Just not tall, which at the time was unique for military leaders-,"

"-Yeah, yeah, yeah," Zack interrupted, shaking his head as he fought back a sneeze. "Get back to Russia, man, that was getting interesting."

Cody chuckled softly—_Zack_ enjoying history? He grinned and obliged. "So Napoleon wants to attack Russia, and he gets his armies all pumped up and ready to go, but they plan their trip wrong and run into winter-,"

"-Like the Nazis?"

Cody thought for a moment, and then nodded. "Russia's got a history of using its weather against its enemies, I guess," he said. "So Napoleon gets to this major battle that he really, _really_ needs to win but his troops aren't ready, and his strategy fails-,"

"-I thought you said he was a genius?" Zack asked skeptically. "What'd he do-confuse Russia with Hawaii?"

"He just miscalculated," said Cody. "It happens. So he ends up losing, marches back to France, is exiled to this little miserable island which he demands the French emperor make him lord of, and then eventually stages this whole comeback."

"Like Michael Jordan?"  
Cody laughed. "Yeah, sure,"

Zack sneezed and blew out his freezing breath. "Yeah, well, if Russia's winter is anything like _Boston's_, than I pity that guy."

Cody smiled and turned to look out at the storm. His grin widened as he saw that the wind had died down and the snow had stopped falling so hard and fast. "Zack!" he exclaimed joyfully, stumbling to his feet. "Look!"

"What-," Zack followed his brother's gaze and laughed loudly at the sight. "YES!" he shouted, before he began to cough. Cody reached out a hand and Zack took it gratefully, wobbling to his feet and using his twin for support.

"You need to go to a doctor," Cody told him grimly. "That cold could develop into something serious without medicine."

Zack waved the remark off. "Let's just get home!" he said joyfully, starting forward. "I have this craving for some _hot chocolate_!"

Cody laughed and followed him out into the streets, where people had begun to reappear and collect their windblown things and shops began to reopen as the weather slowly died down to a gentle snowfall.

Cody looked up curiously at one of the stores; wanting to know where exactly they had been wandering around. The name and sign out front made him grin widely, as a slow and heartfelt laugh left him, part humor, part relief.

It was the music store.

They followed their ownfootsteps back home.

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**The End**

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_Please review_!


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